SUMMARY

Let me scream.

Sonita has no papers to prove her identity. She entered Iran from Afghanistan as an undocumented refugee and hasn't seen her mother for eight years. She's trying to cope with life as an Afghan refugee in Tehran. Director Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami follows Sonita on her quest to convince someone in Iranian recording studios to sign her on as she has discovered a passion for rapping, which is against the law. Her brother has his eye on a girl he wants to marry but first he has to find 9000 dollars to give her family. As custom goes, Sonita's family decides to wed Sonita to another man in exchange for 9000 dollars, so that they can give the money to their son. As there are no reasonable men in Sonita's family who will listen to her nor women who have been able to change their destiny regarding arranged marriages, Sonita is about to become the next protagonist of a horrible story she knows all too well. In desperation, she turns to Ghaemmaghami and asks the director to buy her. The rest of the film is the story of Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami, who finds herself in the position of having to make a difficult decision, and Sonita's only passion: rap.

FESTIVALS

2015 IDFA, 2016 SUNDANCE BEST DOCUMENTARY / EN İYİ BELGESEL

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami was born in Tehran. She has a BA in cinema and an MA in animation. Sonita, the follow-up to her documentary Going Up the Stairs (2011), was released in 2015.